A tribute to Millie

After a chilly night, Hyunsuk changed my light pink bed spread with cartoon girls and trendy English to a light pink comforter with Peter Rabbit characters. I couldn't help but feel a bit childish at first, but it's without a doubt the cutest, fluffiest, little-girl-comforter I've ever seen. Peter Rabbit paraphernalia is popular in Korea. And rabbits are a popular pet.

News of animal trauma came to me from both my American and my Korean family at about the same time. Three of the four rabbits living in the rabbit cage outside were massacred when a neighborhood dog bit through the fence and attacked. Moxanim confronted the owner of the dog he suspected, who denied that it was his dog. He just recently got new rabbits. I suppose he didn't want the leftover, and probably shell-shocked, rabbit to be lonely.

A day or two before the incident, my mom told me that our family pet, Millie, had a tumor in her nose and was going to die. The tumor was treatable for a human-sized price, but my parents decided to just let her be. Just like a human, Millie had a "few months to live."

In the midst of Millie's few months, my grandparents' dog, Bootsie, came to live with my family. I totally understand why this move was necessary, and don't worry, Grandma and Grandpa Hester, we'll take good care of her, but I feel bad that Millie spent the last few weeks of her life trying to fight her territorial tendencies. I worried about her. But Mom said they got along ok minus a few dog food skirmishes. Millie doesn't like to share her family and her home with other dogs. It's not that she's unfriendly. She's just a jealous dog. She gets cranky. Worries that she won't get fed.

Millie was also a great dog. And I don't think coming home...in six and a half months...will be the same without Millie. I like Bootsie, but I don't think she will replace Millie. It may take me some time to warm up to Bootsie in the same way.

A tribute to Millie!

Here's to the many walks she took. Here's to the many times she perked up at the sound of "walk," "balk," "chalk," and many other rhyming words.

Here's to the time she tried to play the piano. Here's to the

times she barked protectively when an ex-boyfriend tried to hug me. And to the way she sat peacefully when my fiance held me, and even jumped to protect him if I got an itch to tickle him.

Here's to the day when she was too small to master a basketball in the backyard, to her prime, when she ran to and fro along the fence with her other dog friends, and to her older days--she kept chugging even when a nasty tumor clogged her air passages.

Here's to the way she chased milk cartons across the kitchen floor or ran after slippery grapes and eventually enjoy their sweet juices.

To the way you would bring pieces of dog food into the family room, just so you could snack with us while we watched a flick!

To the family reunions she endured with Lola, Brian and Sarah's great dane, and Bootsie, around. We never meant to threaten your position as top dog, Millie. Here's to the bout of shame you felt when you started to lose control of your bladder and peed on the carpet. We never meant to hurt you when we scolded you.

There are dogs in Korea, Millie, but none with your character and personality!

You were a good dog. You were a great dog. And I,...we,...will miss you dearly. Goodbye, Mill-dog!

If you were close with Millie or were touched by her in some way and have something you'd like to say, then feel free to leave a comment.